Tag Archives: Yonkers Raceway

Irving Rudd (Public relations. Born, New York, NY, Oct. 13, 1917; died, Manhasset, NY, June 2, 2000.) It was perhaps natural that Irving Rudd would be attracted to the boxing business, even if as a publicist rather than as a pugilist. He grew up in the Brownsville section of Brooklyn that was prime boxing territory […]

Del Insko (Harness racing. Born, Amboy, MN, July 10, 1931.) Del Insko was the dominant harness driver in the New York area in the 1960s and early 1970s, when Yonkers and Roosevelt Raceways were the dominant tracks in the sport. Delmer M. Insko shifted to the New York circuit in 1962. For a dozen years […]

Lou Niss (Sports editor. Born, Minsk, Russia, Oct. 5, 1903; died, New York, NY, Apr. 30, 1987.) The last sports editor of the Brooklyn Eagle, Louis Niss was also the first front-office employee hired by the Mets, in 1960. Niss began his newspaper career in 1923 wirh the Brooklyn Times and worked his way through […]

Billy Haughton (Harness racing. Born, Gloversville, NY, Nov. 2, 1923; died, Valhalla, NY, July 15, 1986.) William D. Haughton was, for over 30 years, a leading figure in harness racing, and his unfortunate death was the result of a driving accident at Yonkers Raceway. During his career, Haughton was the winning driver in 4,910 races […]

Lou O’Neill (Sports Editor. Born, Ravenswood, NY, Dec. 15, 1906; died, Rego Park, NY, Jan. 23, 1978.) On the 50th anniversary of his start in the newspaper business, over 400 friends of Louis Francis O’Neill turned out in his honor at an Astoria banquet hall. Most of the organizers of the O’Neill tribute were people […]

Gerry Mastellone (Harness racing. Born, New York, NY, Dec. 5, 1927; died, Yonkers, NY, Feb. 26, 1993.) Considered the best standard-bred handicapper of his time, Gerald Mastellone made selections for the World-Telegram for over a decade. In 1966, with his paper shut down by a prolonged strike after its merger into the World Journal Tribune […]

Mike LaChance (Harness racing. Born, St. Augustin, P.Q., Dec. 12, 1950.) Coming from a small cattle farm in Quebec, Michel Lachance became a leading driver at Yonkers, Roosevelt, and the Meadowlands racetracks. Lachance arrived in New York in 1982 and soon supplanted Carmine Abbatiello as the king of the New York half-mile tracks. He erased Abbatiello’s […]

Murray Goodman (Public relations. Born, Pekrokov, Russia, Jan. 1, 1914; died, Toms River, NJ, Mar. 8, 1996.) Coming to the United States at age five, Murray Goodman grew up into the sports field in the 1920s, the so-called “Golden Age of American Sports,” but once became so disgusted with the business that he became a […]

John Chapman (Harness racing. Born, Toronto, Ont., Nov. 25, 1928; died, Westbury, LI, May 2, 1980.) In a career that began in 1947, John Chapman became one of the most popular of the catch drivers during the “golden age” of trotting at Yonkers and Roosevelt Raceways. Chapman drove 3,915 winners and his horses earned $21,359,746. […]

Bill Cane (Harness racing. Born, Jersey City, NJ, Aug. 5, 1874; died, Miami Beach, FL, Mar. 27, 1956.) Following his father into the building trade, William Henry Cane also developed a passion for buying and driving trotting horses. His avocation eventually became the main focus of Cane’s life. His Good Time Stable in the Orange County […]

About This Dictionary

The Bill Shannon Biographical Dictionary of New York Sports is an open database of sports biographies maintained by Jordan Sprechman and Marty Appel. We welcome public and scholarly contributions and suggestions.